Grizzly bears that make their way into the Bitterroot Ecosystem will have Endangered Species Act protections . U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials made that announcement a letter to National Forests in the area Tuesday.

Each week, the haunting wail of the common loon opens the Field Notes program. The loon’s cry always brings to my mind clear mountain lakes rimmed by lush coniferous forests, a handsome pair of birds in their formal black and white courting plumage calling across the quiet water.